‘What Did I Do Wrong?’: Black Influencer Sues South Carolina Restaurant After Being Surrounded By White Mob and Kicked Out in Viral Video
A South Carolina influencer is clapping back at a restaurant that kicked him out last month. Trayvon Turner, also known as Ben-A-Critic, filed a lawsuit […] ‘What Did I Do Wrong?’: Black Influencer Sues South Carolina Restaurant After Being Surrounded By White Mob and Kicked Out in Viral Video
Black News 
A South Carolina influencer is clapping back at a restaurant that kicked him out last month.
Trayvon Turner, also known as Ben-A-Critic, filed a lawsuit against Florence restaurant Percy & Willie’s and its owners Friday.
Atlanta Black Star previously reported what happened when Turner was asked to leave last month.
In a video posted on the influencer’s TikTok, Turner tried to do a review of the restaurant. But the manager told him he wasn’t allowed to record in the restaurant and asked him to leave.
“I’m asking you to leave the business,” the manager said.
“Why?”
“We don’t allow videoing in here,” the manager said. The video then shows him telling someone to “call the police.”
Ben claimed in the video that the confrontation lasted 15 seconds before the men began dialing 911. He repeatedly told the manager he didn’t have an issue leaving, but he did have an issue with how he was being treated.
“What did I do wrong? I literally sat down and ordered my food,” Ben said.
At one point in the video, Ben said the owner and manager started touching and pushing him with their bodies.
“I felt very uncomfortable in this situation,” Turner said. “I was surrounded by a lot of angry men, and they all had pocket knives. Not to mention, they kept touching me.”
In the lawsuit filed last week, Turner said he believes he was kicked out because he was Black.
“Defendants’ establishment is owned and operated by Caucasian men, and Defendants applied their purported policy in a racially discriminatory manner, targeting Plaintiff, an African American patron, while similarly situated non-Black patrons have been permitted to remain and record.”
The lawsuit identified William Hal Neel III and Jeffrey Chamblee as the owners of the restaurant. Andrew Davis was identified as the General Manager. Tracy Counts is the Service Manager.
It’s unclear who in the video is who, but Turner claims they’re all in it.
The lawsuit alleged Neel used his chest and body to push Turner out of the restaurant.
Turner also claims Neel then called police and falsely reported that he had punched him in the face. Police responded but made no arrest.
The lawsuit added that Chamblee blocked Turner’s vehicle in the parking lot so he couldn’t leave.
But once the video of the confrontation went viral, Turner said he began receiving death threats. The lawsuit said the incident left him unable to work for several weeks.
“Plaintiff has suffered damage to his professional reputation, loss of business opportunities, loss of income, emotional distress, mental anguish, and public humiliation.”
He is seeking actual and punitive damages on several legal claims, including assault, battery, defamation, and false imprisonment, in amounts to be determined by a jury.
The restaurant has yet to respond to the Atlanta Black Star’s request for a statement. The business’s Google number is unlisted.
Atlanta Black Star also reached out to Turner and his attorney, but has not heard back.
